The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-08-12
THE LEGEND OF COAL CREEK.
The Rich Vein of silver Which Is Guarded by
Two Weird Monsters.

Two weird monsters.
Clinton (Ind Letter in Chicago News.
Between Clinton Ind and the Illinois line is
hllly BIT of country. through which flows a
little stream called Coal creek In the hills are
feet below the surface of the ground and crop
ping out in many places. The log cabins of
miners and poor farmers, with here and there a
stony field of corn oats. the only signs of
civilization in the wild neighborhood The peo-
pie have a remarkable story to tell to any
stranger who may chance to penetrate into
their territory.
They firmly believe that there is vein OF
pure silver "a foot thickn in a certain hill the
side of the creek This rich vein of m etal. they
say, extends under the bed of the creek and then
is lost beneath high hill on the other side No
white man now alive has ever seen this treas
ure Many years ago, however, an old man
dressed in ragged garments and acting as il he
had lost his WITS seen occasionally in the
neigh borhood. and it Is believed he knew the
secret of the mine. Tho old man, after remain
ing IN the hills two or three days and nights.
When any one questioned him about the mine
he would shrink from them and say: 1T would
be death for me to tell.
The people believed that this old man dug up
what silver he could carry away and then de-
parted, only returning when he needed more.
He has not been seen for a number of years,
however. and it is thought that he is dead.
The mine-so the story runs-is hidden from
human eyes by the power of Indian magicans.
Furthermore. it is protected ny two grim guar
dians-a great lion and snake one hundred feet
long. There are many people in that vicinity
who say they have seen the lion and the snake.
AS they never known to leave any track be-
hind them it is believed that they ghosts.
The people say that when the Indians were
driven out of that country by the white settlers
the magicans of the tribe killed the lion and the
snake and left their ghosts guard the mine.
In order to furnish these ghosts with hiding
place the Indians set fire to a bed of coal which
cropped of the hill by. thus forming
deep cave. which is.there to this dav, and which
has dared to explore. In this dark
hole the two ghostly guardians are bound by
charm. The snake, however, is permitted to
leave the den once every year, while the lion
has the same privilege accorded it once every
four FIVE years At such times they
free they roam abroad and create terror for
miles around
The snake was last seen in the summer of 1886
by a man named Murphy, who, with his little
son. picking black berries in the woods. The
father and son ran away as fast as they could;
in fact one who has seen this wonderful SER
pent did anything in its presence except
run away from it, SO far anyone now re-
member. The lion, however has been hunted.
John Fletcher, farmer, one day about ten
years ago, saw the lion in front of him. He ran
to a neighbours house and got gun a compan-
ION. and pack of hounds They followed the
lion to a thicket. in which it disappeared. The
hounds. catching sight of the beast, first
,orsted up and then turned tail and ran. sThe
hunters also became frightened and went home.
Mrs. Hockett, when little girl, saw the lion
sitting bv stump on a hill near her fathers
house. She began to scream, and her father
to her. He could not see the beast and told her
that she afraid of stump. He got AK
and cut down the stump. but the lion still sat
there. 1t finally went away. A few years later
Mrs. Hockett's sister animal 'lke big.
woolly dog running down hill by her side.
Presently she it was the lion. and ran away
About ten years later Mrs. Hockett, her hus-
band and two other persons, while going
along lonely road night, heard animal
breathing in a thicket few feet away. Before
they had time to Get badly frightened they heard
the animal rise above the tops of the young
trees and then crash down into the bushes
eral hundred feet away A few more of those
tremendous leaps took it of hearing. They
did not doubt but that it was the lion
The spectral snake is described as being black
in color and large around the body of
The people believe that the charm by
which it and the lion held will become pow
erless in few more years and that they will go
away and never return. Then the lost silver
mine will be found The white who for
merry visited the mine was supposed to have
ceived from the Indians a charm by which he
could control the guardian specters When he
died the secret was lost
In the above bare statement the curious
belief of the Coal creek jewellers is given with
out adornment of any sort, its value lying in
the simple faith with which the people of that
locality accept il AS the truth. The story reads
like relic of some medieval tale of enchant-
ment and fiery dragons, which in some strange
manner has been transplanted on American soil